Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2020/Summer II/Section 09/Wade Hampton Taylor

Cole Herbert

Overview

Annie Bowman was an author and a reporter in the 19th century America. The great depression was a time of great despair and angst. For many reasons the people of America were depressed and had zero hope when they went to work each and every day. Annie, an everyday person, who strived for greater pastures during the great depression, took advantage of an opportunity given by the government to try to better thyself and achieve the American dream. Average people could strive to be interviewers and journalists and publish the content of the people of the great depression. Average people interviewing other average people is the highlight of this project. Annie interviewed the Hines family of Colombia, Alabama. To try to get recognition and attempt to receive money based off of some goof work, Annie interviewed this family. An average, African American family from the south during the great depression. The content that she received was more than astonishing, seeing how the everyday life of an African American family in the south during the great depression lived.

House mid 1930's

Biography

The Hines family was an average family living in the south during the great depression. Times were low and money was scarce with strict government rules and regulations. Mary Hines, the mother of nine children, was a schoolteacher at the local school, along with four of her children. Four of her other children are diseased, from issues that are not disclosed. Mary’s youngest child is in local high school, the only remaining child still in school. Mary’s family is somewhat well off. Her remaining children that are alive are all working, making this family above the average money wise for African American families during the time period. Mary’s other four children, who are alive, are teaching in schools and making wages. During the times, the wages for workers were not high, each of the children made $30 a month. Mary, as a side job, is a washer. The Hines house was repossessed by the government, and to repay the government, the family had to pay $5 a month for the next seven years of their life. The house that they lived in was very small which was average for an African American family at the time. There was a living room suite and 8 bedrooms. The rooms were not very big and fit just enough space to house the eight children that were living there throughout the years. The father of the household was half blind and could only see a very small amount since his recent eye surgery. He was a very capable man who worked and kept his own garden. He proclaimed that he could “pick cotton a little,” which showed that he was a working man.

Social Context

The Great Depression in the South

The Hines family was an average family living in the south during the great depression. Times were low and money was scarce with strict government rules and regulations. Mary Hines, the mother of nine children, was a schoolteacher at the local school, along with four of her children. Four of her other children are diseased, from issues that are not disclosed. Mary’s youngest child is in local high school, the only remaining child still in school. Mary’s family is somewhat well off. Her remaining children that are alive are all working,

Family Life

Her remaining children that are alive are all working, making this family above the average money wise for African American families during the time period. Mary’s other four children, who are alive, are teaching in schools and making wages. During the times, the wages for workers were not high, each of the children made $30 a month. Mary, as a side job, is a washer. The Hines house was repossessed by the government, and to repay the government, the family had to pay $5 a month for the next seven years of their life. The house that they lived in was very small which was average for an African American family at the time. There was a living room suite and 8 bedrooms.

Living Quarters

The rooms were not very big and fit just enough space to house the eight children that were living there throughout the years. The father of the household was half blind and could only see a very small amount since his recent eye surgery. He was a very capable man who worked and kept his own garden. He proclaimed that he could “pick cotton a little,” which showed that he was a working man.

References

1. Bowman, Annie L. “Folder 3: Bowman, Annie L. (Interviewer): Another Version of the above Interview.” Federal Writers Project Papers.
2. The Great Depression., catalog
3. “Federal Writers' Project.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 3 Mar. 2021
4. “Great Depression History.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 29 Oct. 2009
5. Ohanian, Lee E., and Barry Eichengreen. "The Great Recession in the Shadow of the Great Depression: A Review Essay on Hall of Mirrors: The Great Depression, the Great Recession, and the Uses and Misuses of History, by Barry Eichengreen." Journal of Economic Literature 55, no. 4 (2017): 1583-601. Accessed April 3, 2021.
6. Marsh, John. “The Emotional Life of the Great Depression.” Oxford Scholarship Online, Oxford University Press

Bibliography

Bowman, Annie L. “Folder 3: Bowman, Annie L. (Interviewer): Another Version of the above Interview.” Federal Writers Project Papers, dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/03709/id/995/rec/1.

The Great Depression., catalog.lib.unc.edu/catalog/UNCb10288661.

“Federal Writers' Project.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 3 Mar. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Writers%27_Project.

History.com Editors. “Great Depression History.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 29 Oct. 2009, www.history.com/topics/great-depression/great-depression-history.

Ohanian, Lee E., and Barry Eichengreen. "The Great Recession in the Shadow of the Great Depression: A Review Essay on Hall of Mirrors: The Great Depression, the Great Recession, and the Uses and Misuses of History, by Barry Eichengreen." Journal of Economic Literature 55, no. 4 (2017): 1583-601. Accessed April 3, 2021. doi:10.2307/26417166.

Marsh, John. “The Emotional Life of the Great Depression.” Oxford Scholarship Online, Oxford University Press, oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/oso/9780198847731.001.0001/oso-9780198847731.

Reflection:

1. What do you see as the strongest part of your Wikiversity entry? Why?
   1. The strongest part of my wikiversity page is my overview. I feel like my overview could be read and be understood by the common viewer.
2. What do you see as the weakest part of your Wikiversity entry? Why?
   1. My weakest part of the wikiversity page is the social context. I feel like more could have been said and better explained to the reader.
3. What have you learned about addressing a general audience reading about a topic in the social sciences?
   1. I have learned that when addressing a larger scale audience, I need to keep things short and simple.
4. What process did you go through to choose a topic?
   1. I sorted through a couple of sources and chose the source that I most felt would be interesting towards myself.
5. How have you become a more critical/analytical thinker, reader, and writer? What skills do you hope to develop further?
   1. I have been able to analyze thoughts and sources and incorporate my thoughts into them.
6. What organizational strategy did you use? How successful was it? Why?
   1. I gathered all of my sources and used my thoughts to incorporate new thoughts.
7. What is the one revision you made that you are most satisfied with? Why?
   1. I am most satisfied with my sentence structure revisions.
8. If you could make an additional revision, what would it be? Why?
   1. I feel like my sentence structure could be stronger.
9. How did your reviewer(s) help you? How could you have more effectively used the comments and suggestions you received?
   1. He helped me with my sentence structure and formulating better words.
10. How did reviewing a peer’s Wikiversity entry help you?
    1. It helped me see how sentence structure was supposed to be formed.
11. What sentence-level problems did you find most frequently in your writing? How will you avoid that problem in future assignments?
    1. My sentences were often found to me as too wordy and too long.
12. What problems, if any, did you have documenting (citing) your sources?
    1. It was trouble trying to master the Chicago style at first.